Means for stitching hook tape to garments



Nov. 22, 1960 w. SIMPSON MEANS FOR STITCHING HOOK TAPE TO GARMENTS FiledDec. 1, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet l I! X o -h. m A... 1 s n W m w m w! B1. w 1nm g W\F m -b Nov. 22, 1960 w. SIMPSON 2,960,945

MEANS FOR STITCHING HOOK TAPE T0 GARMENTS Filed Dec. 1, 1958 2Sheets-Sheet 2 1M wdw M m 04 QM United States Patent C MEANS FORSTITCHIN G HOOK TAPE TO GARMENTS William Simpson, Handsworth, England,assignor to Newey Brothers Limited, Birmingham, England, a company ofGreat Britain Filed Dec. 1, 1958, Ser. No. 777,320

Claims priority, application Great Britain Dec. 21, 1957 1 Claim. (Cl.112-2) This invention relates to means for stitching hook tape togarments.

Hook tape comprises a folded strip of fabric into which hooks arestitched at uniformly spaced intervals and which is adapted to besecured by stitching to a garment, the hooks co-operating with similarlyspaced eyes on tape stitched to another part of the garment.

For some purposes it is desirable that the hooks should be as close aspossible to an edge of the garment so that this edge can abut againstthe edge of another portion of the garment carrying the eye tape andthere is no overlapping.

Hitherto this has involved two separate operations in stitching the hooktape to the garment. The edge portion of the tape extends laterallybeyond the hooks and this is stitched to the garment first with the billof the hook uppermost. The garment is then folded back and the otheredge is secured by a second line of stitching parallel to the first.

According to my invention, hook tape is stitched to a garment in asingle operation in a two-needle sewing machine with the tape in aninverted position below the garment, one line of stitching being closelyadjacent to the edge of the tape and intersecting the line of hooks ofwhich the bills are so formed as to provide passage for a needle betweenthe wires, and the machine incorporating means for guiding the hook tapeand for momentarily displacing a hook as the needles descend if a wireof the hook bill should be in the path of a needle.

Hook tape can thus be stitched to a garment in a single operationinstead of two operations so that there is a considerable saving of timeand labour.

Preferably the mechanism is arranged as an attachment to a standardtwo-needle sewing machine in place of existing parts so that no majormodifications of the machine are required.

One practical attachment to a sewing machine for stitching hook tape toa garment in accordance with my invention is illustrated by way ofexample in the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a front elevation,

Figure 2 is a side elevation,

Figure 3 is a horizontal section on the line 3-3 of Figure 2,

Figure 4 is a plan of the throat plate and guides,

Figure 5 is a fragmentary section on a larger scale of the guidesshowing the work in position.

The attachment illustrated is designed to be fitted to a standardtwo-needle sewing machine in place of existing parts.

The standard throat-plate of a two-needle machine is replaced by athroat plate having two parallel walls 10, 11 between which a hook tapeis guided, and a guide unit 12, 13 is secured by screws 14 to the frontplate to direct the tape into the throat plate. Extending horizontallyfrom the wall is a guide member 15 of which the free edge is spaced fromthe other wall, and with the hook tape in an inverted position the billsof the hooks 16 fit over and slide on this edge of the guide member asshown in Figure 5.

The other wall 11 of the throat plate is slotted or recessed to receivea rocking pawl 17 which rocks in a horizontal plane and is actuated bythe upper end of a short substantially vertical lever 18 which ispivoted on a fixed horizontal pin 19 and the lower end of which engagesbetween spaced pegs or lugs 20 on a portion of the standard mechanism 21normally serving to actuate the feed-dog for the work. The pawl 17 isloaded by a light blade spring 22 and has a tooth 23 adapted to engageand displace the wire of a book if it would be in the path of a needle.The mechanism 21 also actuates a substantially vertical finger 24 forperiodically lifting the presser foot of the machine.

The standard presser foot is replaced by a modified foot 25 having anopening to receive a feed-dog 26 which is located above the work insteadof below. The feeddog is mounted to slide on two parallel vertical rods27 canied by the needle bar rocker frame 28 and is urged downwardly bycompression spring 29 on the rods. The feeding movement of the feed-dogis effected by the rocker frame and it is adapted to be moved verticallyby a pin 30 in the needle frame working in a vertical slot 31 in thefeed-dog.

The timing is such that the normal feed mechanism 21 below the throatplate raises the presser foot momentarily through the medium of thefinger 24 to take the pressure olf the work while the feed dog iscarrying out its feeding movement, and then the feed-dog rises as thepresser foot is lowered again.

In stitching a length of hook tape 32 to a garment the inverted hooktape is fitted to the guide member 15 in the throat plate, the garment33 is fitted over it in alignment with the hook edge of the tape, and inengagement with the guiding wall or flange 11 on the throat plate, asshown in Figure 5, and the machine is then operated normally.

One line of stitching 34 passes through the hook tape to the rear of thehooks and the other line 35 intersects the line of the bills of thehooks which are formed from two substantially parallel wires spacedapart at such a distance as to allow a needle to pass between them. If,as the needle descends, a wire of a hook bill would be in the path ofthe needle making the line of stitching 35 the hook is momentarilydisplaced by the rocking pawl 17 which is actuated on every stitch.

It will be noted that the line of stitching 35 is very close to the edgeof the tape carrying the hooks so that the tape does not tend to bepulled away from the garment by a strain on the hooks.

In addition to the great saving of time and labor made by my invention,it has the further advantage that both lines of stitching securing thetape to the garment are the right way up and the appearance of thefinished garment is improved.

I claim:

An attachment for a standard two-needle sewing machine for stitching toa garment in a simple operation a hood tape carrying closely adjacent toone edge a series of spaced hooks of which the bills are formed bysubstantially parallel wires spaced apart sufficiently to allow a needleto pass between them, said attachment comprising a throat plate adaptedto replace the standard throat plate of the sewing machine, having anupstanding guide wall for engagement with the aligned edges of the tapeand garment to which it is to be sewn, and also having a work bearingsurface parallel with the main working surface of the sewing machine,the work bearing surface of the throat plate having a parallel sidedslot, parallel with the guide wall, for receiving the bills of the hookson the inverted hook tape and guiding the hook tape to- References Citedin the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Bebel Oct. 22, 1929Rocke Feb. 17, 1931 Roseman May 9, 1933 Paine Mar. 10, 1936 Clayton May24, 1949

